Partial support is requested to facilitate a Gordon Research Conference dealing specifically with the topic of Meiosis. This is a new conference, and it will be held on July 12-17, 1992 at Plymouth State College in Plymouth, New Hampshire. The field of meiosis is at a critical juncture as the tools of modern molecular biology and biochemistry are brought to bear on classical problems such as pairing, recombination, and segregation. The purposes of this meeting are several fold: (1) to present and discuss the most recent developments in the field; (2) to provide a forum for formulating questions and developing new paradigms; (3) to unite "classical" workers in the field with molecular "newcomers"; and (4) to encourage new people who are accustomed to thinking about problems at a sophisticated biochemical level to initiate studies of the meiotic process. The meeting will be limited to 130 conferees, including approximately 50 invited speakers. Conferees will be drawn from the disciplines of genetics, biochemistry, cytology, and molecular biology. In addition to the 50 invited speakers, the remaining conferees will be chosen from the applicant pool by the organizers. Session topics will include pairing and recombination, chromosome structure, temporal controls and check points in the meiotic process, meiotic controls of gene expression, and spindle structure and function. To the greatest extent possible, each session will emphasize both a multi- disciplinary approach to the topic and highlight work on a number of different organisms. In addition to the scheduled talks, there will be a workshop on the cytogenetic analysis of chromosome pairing and two poster sessions. We will specifically encourage posters from those dealing with meiotic problems or systems that are not yet amenable to molecular analysis as well as posters reporting molecular findings.